Joystiq

Ubisoft: Tom Clancy 'will appear' on Wii

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-09-18T16:15:00+00:00

Unless he was cryptically teasing the appearance of a special-edition Wii branded with the author's face, we think Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently suggested that the company's Tom Clancy franchise would be gracing the Wii in the future. "Tom Clancy will appear at one point," Guillemot told GameDaily in an interview. "We need to make sure they [look good]."

An integral part of making them look good, of course, lies in Ubisoft's engine technology, which first needs to be adapted for Nintendo's odd-one-out hardware. "We have engines that were created for the next-generation consoles," explained the Ubi boss. "We had to re-engineer a certain number of engines to be sure we could use the quality of the machine. Even without the [high-end] graphics, the experience can still be very interesting."

And there you have it. Tom Clancy's Very Interesting Experience Without The Graphics confirmed for release in, uh, "the future."

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Ubisoft CEO: Europe more important than US now

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-08-27T11:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

And he's not just saying that to make up for years of financial inequity and utterly perverse release schedules. "First, our money - the pound or the euro - is very strong and because of that the turnover from those countries is heavier than they used to be," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot tells GamesIndustry.biz. "So for Ubisoft turnover Europe is actually more important than the US now, and by more than 5 per cent. It's become a very strong market for us."

Guillemot suspects that's largely to blame on all the exercise Europeans have been getting with new accessories and more accessible games, the likes of which even include politically charged real-time strategy scuffle Tom Clancy's EndWar. "A game like EndWar, for example, which you can control by voice - it's totally changing the industry because it gives you the opportunity to command what's happening, and to have a quick answer to the orders you give."

While Ubi and Yu-rop laugh all the way to the bank, remind yourself that EndWar totally changes the industry on October 14th on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

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GC 2008: Ubisoft screenshot roundup

Ross Miller — 2008-08-21T18:44:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Galleries

Ubisoft has released beaucoup d'images as part of the media overflow we call Leipzig Games Convention 2008. Below and after the break, check out new galleries of screenshots for Raving Rabbids TV Party, Prince of Persia, EndWar, HAWX, Far Cry 2 and more. It's just like Ubidays, only with no Beyond Good & Evil in sight. Oh, mon Dieu!

Gallery: Prince of Persia (Leipzig 2008)

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Russian-Georgia conflict predicted by Ghost Recon

Ross Miller — 2008-08-14T04:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Politics

Tom Clancy might be this generation's Nostradamus. Although off by about three months, the first level in 2001's Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon is eerily familiar to the past week's events, where Russia and South Ossetian rebels have been fighting with Georgia. Unlike Ghost Recon, however, there has been no signs of US special forces armed with technologically advanced firepower and controlled by a mysterious "player."

Scholars are already sifting through The Great Texts in anticipation of any potential conflicts in 2014 Mexico City.

[Via Game Politics]

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Joystiq E3 hands-on: Tom Clancy's EndWar

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-07-21T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Strategy, E3

"Attack the enemy base!"
"Yes sir, I'll enter a foot race."
"No, launch the missiles!"
"We'll harvest all nearby thistles."
"Attack the enemy units. Please, listen to me."
"Downloading latest DLC."
"Oh ... just forget it."

This doesn't happen in Tom Clancy's EndWar. It may be a sad comment on the history of in-game voice commands, but the best compliment one can give to Ubisoft's robust interface is that it works. There's no need to plead with it in a robotic tone or a slowed pace, and no voice training is required beforehand. Despite slipping in an "uh" here and there while contemplating orders, EndWar understood everything we said. Well, everything aside from the muttered curses prompted by our utter defeat.

Gallery: Tom Clancy's EndWar (PS3, Xbox 360)

EndWar can be daunting at first, especially if you missed out on the tutorial's explanation of what that icon means, what this part of the HUD is telling you and why you shouldn't drop a nuclear bomb on your own tanks. This is precisely why the voice commands needed to work well -- if you can trust that your orders won't be mangled somewhere along the journey from your mouth to the game, you'll quickly gain confidence in your ability to command troops.

"...the game feels more involving and immediate than many typical RTS games we've played."

Though you're sure to read this on the back of the box and in just about every piece of marketing material, EndWar truly feels like a real-time strategy game built for consoles, as opposed to one that's been ported from a mouse-equipped platform. This is true for two reasons: Firstly and quite obviously, no PC version has been announced. Secondly, the game feels more involving and immediate than many typical RTS games we've played.

It's not just an issue of controls. It's about bringing you, the general and player, closer to the troops who so loyally follow your every command, ill-advised or not. Most strategy games place you high up in the sky, asking you to peer down on your troops, drag boxes around them and send them off to some contested corner of the map. With EndWar, this distance has been diminished and your comfortable, Cheeto-encrusted couch has been dropped right into the battlefield. The third-person camera, which can be attached to any of your units (say: "Unit X, camera."), sticks low to the ground, faithfully following your armies and allowing you to aim and target incoming opposition (or say: "Unit X, attack hostile Y").

Of course, you can play the whole thing without uttering a single word -- all your commands can be issued via a branching, on-screen menu -- but it feels more exciting to bark orders directly and desperately yell for reinforcements (say: "Deploy tanks."). The action-packed EndWar doesn't seem to place much emphasis on resource gathering and exploitation ("Dumbed down!" goes the PC crowd), instead focusing on capturing locations and protecting them. It gives the missions an exciting, brisk pace that forces you to remain active and pay attention to unit hierarchy. Don't expect your infantrymen to triumph against tanks!

"Mutually assured destruction is still chalked up as a loss, you know."

We should probably have listened to the Ubisoft representative when she told us that. Ordering our men to take cover and garrison some buildings would have been more tactically intelligent, certainly more than our plan to jam enemy tank treads with crushed bones and human mush. Another poor decision: Dropping the bomb. The resulting mass destruction not only damaged our own units, but triggered the enemy's cataclysmic retaliation. Though the "EndWar" phase gives you the chance to turn the tide of battle, acting impulsively gives the enemy permission to get its hands just as dirty. Mutually assured destruction is still chalked up as a loss, you know.

And where does EndWar stand to lose? Well, despite being more acclimated to the console realm, it's still a real-time strategy game. Missions can't all devolve into capturing uplinks, and the game's multiplayer meta-campaign, a turn-based tussle for world domination, will have to remain dynamic to maintain interest. There's also a four-player online co-op mode in there, though we question whether the game's voice recognition will be able to make sense of all the racial slurs and homophobic slang on Xbox Live.

Still, we really don't have many bad things to say about Tom Clancy's EndWar. The skirmishes are exciting, the voice controls work well and it boasts some solid production values. With Halo Wars not due until next year, it seems EndWar might just deliver the first real-time strategy that intuitively clicks (sans clicking devices) with consoles. It's out on October 14th for Xbox 360 and PS3, with DS and PSP versions to follow later. Watch out for a demo on Xbox Live and PSN within the coming months.

Preview author, retreat!

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Tom Clancy's EndWar launching Oct. 14

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-07-15T18:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Strategy

While barking orders into a headset and commanding our tanks to ineffectually ~~annihilate~~ agitate the enemy army, we received some release date intel for upcoming tanks-go-here-helicopters-go-there skirmish, Tom Clancy's EndWar. According to Ubisoft, the console-oriented, real-time strategy game will march onto shelves in the US and Europe on October 14th. It'll launch on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 first, followed by PSP and DS versions at a later stage. A PC version is currenty "under consideration."

Check back later this week for our hands-on impressions of Tom Clancy's EndWar.

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End War pre-order lets you enlist in stress test

Ross Miller — 2008-07-07T19:00:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Strategy

In case your appetite for voice-controlled strategizing hasn't been whetted enough by the bountiful beta leaks, an Ubisoft Forum Manager has announced that you can get "access to the exclusive Stress Test" (i.e. early playtime) for Tom Clancy's End War by pre-ordering the game at participating retailers. More details are said to be forthcoming; a stress test registration page has been unearthed on the End War website that lists July 8 as the opening day.

[Via Damngamer]

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Rainbow Six Vegas 2 trailer explains Fan Pack contents

Griffin McElroy — 2008-06-28T21:00:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters

Ubisoft recently released a video explaining some of the major changes included in their upcoming free expansion to Rainbow Six Vegas 2, and we think it's a fairly safe bet that fans will be pleased. Included in said trailer is a look at the much-requested additions that should make Call of Duty 4 feel sincerely flattered, such as the new grenade indicator and post-elite ranks, as well as the three "new" (see: re-lit and re-textured) maps which will also be made available. Also included are details concerning the new "High Stakes" mode, where health regeneration will be disabled, and where players will amass extra experience points by verbally disparaging the skills of their Low Stakes brethren. We can't wait!

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Ubisoft wants to up its game: be on par with EA, Activision Blizzard

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-06-11T16:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Business

With "bigger and better" becoming a mantra of sorts for modern game design, it seems only logical for the developers and publishers of our favorite blockbusters to expand their operations in tandem with their goals. Speaking to Develop, Ubisoft head of global development, Christine Burgess-Quémard, has said that the Tom Clancy and Prince of Persia publisher is always looking to widen its worldwide business.

"We want to continue our strategy of innovation, and in order to do that, we need to have more people and generate more business," she explained. "Every blockbuster we work on, we invest in new studios, new teams and new projects." As for measuring up to rival monoliths, EA and Activision Blizzard, Burgess-Quémard states that Ubisoft (or is that Take-Twobisoft?) won't be caught resting on its laurels. "We are in the race, definitely - and we're not in it to come last."

Now, please remember the other half of the aforementioned mantra, Ubi. Bigger and better. We could certainly do with fewer giant corporations pumping pollution into our virtual environments.

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Tom Clancy's EndWar private beta coming in June

Ross Miller — 2008-05-30T09:56:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Strategy

Several Joystiq readers have clued us in on a private beta for Tom Clancy's EndWar coming in June. Now Ubisoft has posted a signup page for those who have received an invitation, and a few details are given.

The three-week beta will take place during both June and July and is available only for Xbox 360 players. You will be able to play three maps in online 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 matches. The beta, available in English only, requires participants to have Xbox Live Gold membership, broadband internet connection and 3GB of hard drive space. The beta is available in English only.

Gallery: Tom Clancy's End War

[Via X3F; thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

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Download the Ubidays 2008 trailers here

Ross Miller — 2008-05-29T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Video

If you're interested in owning an HD copy of the Beyond Good & Evil 2 teaser trailer (and really, who isn't?), our file sharing friends at BigDownload (Update: and GameDaily) are offering all the HD trailers from yesterday's Ubidays 2008 event as, erm, big downloads. Check out all the trailers below, including two Prince of Persia speed sketches of the Prince and Elika (here's a game: count the number of times the artist changes brush settings).

Beyond Good & Evil 2 teaser (217 MB)
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway trailer (111 MB)
Prince of Persia teaser (62 MB)
Prince of Persia speed drawing: Prince (9.4 MB)
Prince of Persia speed drawing: Elika (13 MB)
Raving Rabbids TV Party gameplay trailer (59 MB)
Raving Rabbids TV Party teaser (55 MB)
Tom Clancy's EndWar trailer (111 MB)
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. trailer (181 MB)
Shaun White Snowboarding intro (150 MB)
Shaun White Snowboarding trailer (110 MB)
Soul Calibur IV Yoda gameplay trailer (25 MB)
Soul Calibur IV Darth Vader gameplay trailer (31 MB)
Soul Calibur IV cinematical trailer (106 MB)

Rabbids, Persian Princes and Beyond Good & Evil 2? Check out all our coverage (and a bountiful amount of screenshots) from Ubisoft's Ubidays 2008 event.

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Ubisoft reveals Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-04-03T08:00:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Simulations

Hilariously Arbitrary Waggle X-ercise! No, Ubisoft already did that one. Umm, how about Hillbilly Awareness Warrants Xenophobia? Harrowing Antagonistic Waffle Xtreme? Hygienically Attached Wailing Xylophone? Hobos Are Watching Xena? Please, somebody just tell us what Tom Clancy has to do with the Heinous Acronym We X-amined.

Why, thank you, IGN! It seems the first thing Ubisoft is doing with the wholly-purchased Tom Clancy is to put the man inside a high-tech jet and send him into High-Altitude Warfare ... X! Developed by the company's Bucharest studio, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. places couch pilots in over 50 different planes equipped with an "Enhanced Reality System (ERS)," an optional means of alerting you to incoming missiles, tactical position and the activities of your AI squadron.

If you're wary of having robots for wingmen, you'll be pleased to note the game offers a 4-player co-op campaign and a 16-player Versus mode. Ubisoft hawks its airborne wares on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this Fall.

[Thanks, netgem21]

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Ubisoft shares boosted by 'Tom Clancy' purchase

Ross Miller — 2008-03-25T16:58:00+00:00

Filed under: Business

Ubisoft's shares in Paris rose 12 percent this week, to 54.98 euros, after news that the publishing giant had bought the rights to Tom Clancy's brand name. According to Bloomberg, shares had previously fallen 29 percent this year.

The article also notes that Tom Clancy-based titles were responsible for 30 percent of Ubisoft's profit in the fiscal year ending March 2007. As part of the deal, Ubisoft has the rights to use Clancy's name and intellectual property for video games and related merchandising. After the reported Clancy MMO, here's hoping for a Tom Clancy party game where Jack Ryan takes on the Raving Rabbids.

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Ubisoft buys up Tom Clancy rights, announces Clancy MMO

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-03-20T17:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Business

Publisher Ubisoft sealed a mega-deal today for the rights to the Tom Clancy brand name to "use in video games and ancillary products including related books, movies and merchandising products." No price tag was affixed publicly to the deal, but Newsweek spoke with Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter who guesses it was somewhere around $100 million.

GameDaily reports that in a follow up conference call to the announcement, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated the company is looking to make a Tom Clancy MMO. Guillemot also guessed the MMO would cost around $50 million to make. Yes, but will it have the prerequisite elves and dwarves in there to become a phenomenon?

Read -- Ubisoft Locks Up All Tom Clancy Rights, Plans for MMO
Read -- Newsweek talks to Pachter

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See the first gameplay footage from Tom Clancy's EndWar

Justin McElroy — 2008-03-19T09:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Strategy

Well, there's good news and there's bad news. The good? You're about to see a boatload of footage from upcoming RTS Tom Clancy's EndWar. The bad? The Frag Dolls are the ones doing the demonstrating. Let's talk gameplay first. In our opinion, the graphics are solid but the UI looks a bit jumbled. Of course, that's usually the way with an RTS until you know what's going on.

Thanks to the game's voice command, just the sound of the Frag Dolls' voices is enough to make troops start shooting people (a reaction we completely sympathize with). We can't decide if our favorite moment is when the blonde one (Scary Spice?) punches a fist in the air and gleefully shouts "World War 3!" or when she punches lower and gleefully shouts "Yeah! Weapons of mass destruction!" In truth our favorite part is after the video when you the viewer get to hear what the Ubisoft-employed Frag Dolls think of the game. (Spoiler alert: They love it.)

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Comcast offers exclusive Rainbow Six Vegas 2 map

Justin McElroy — 2008-03-18T19:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters

Congratulations, you did it! Why are we heaping our praise upon you for no good reason? Well, friend, you just joined Comcast's Elite Rainbow Six Bravo team. We don't know how you got the honor or why, but we know all you have to do is click this link to be automatically on the crew. For your trouble, you'll get the pride of knowing you're part of something bigger than yourself ... oh, and a free Rainbow Six Vegas 2 map.

The new map is called "Comcast Event" which is uncomfortably close to (read: is) super-blatant in-game advertising. But also, it's free, which makes it pretty tough to take a moral stand against. Enjoy.

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Joystiq hands-on: H.A.W.X.

Christopher Grant — 2008-02-29T19:29:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360

Editor's note: Former Joystiq writer (and now, former GameTap writer) Jared Rea suddenly found himself in possession of his writeup of Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. with no audience to read it. That's where you come in ...

click to enlarge

No, Tom Clancy isn't making a squad-based, tactical skateboarding simulation. Ubisoft is merely flexing their branding muscle and christening their new air combat series in his name. Ah, Air Combat. From meager beginnings came a lucrative franchise for rival publisher Namco-Bandai as their Ace Combat series of dramatic flight sims have since become the only available option for maverick gamers. Where Namco has found a niche with their anime inspired theatrics and pop-star plastered jets, Ubisoft is hoping to bring a bit of seriousness back to blowing stuff up.

Our single mission demo of H.A.W.X. took place over Rio De Janeiro and a realistically mapped one at that. The entire game is set to feature real world locations created with actual satellite data, which means that - from the cities to the mountains - it's as close to the real deal as you can get. As an added touch, the mission began with a fly-by of the famous Christ the Redeemer statue, which we left alone in fear of bad karma. And the Lord sayeth unto us, "Negative, Ghost Rider. The Pattern is full." Being a Tom Clancy title, H.A.W.X. takes place in the not-too-distant future and in the same world as other lineage titles, most notably the Ghost Recon series. One missions actually recreates a level from GRAW 2, putting you in the air supporting the troops on the ground. Meta.

Gallery: Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.

For as true to life as the environments are, the same doesn't apply to the flying mechanics behind H.A.W.X.. More Ace Combat than Flight Simulator, H.A.W.X. still straddles the line between arcade shooter and rigid simulation, with just enough touches to make you a believer. For those not adept in aerial combat, the HUD allows for a variety of tricks to teach you the basics. For example, while chasing an enemy fighter, you can pull up a flight path indicator that will display the best possible route for you to intercept your foe. While the HUD is an intimidating sight, it's actually quite easy to understand in action, even if you haven't played a flight game in a while. Combat in H.A.W.X. is what you would expect from this style of game, or just about any scene from the 1986 classic, Top Gun. You fly ludicrously fast through the sky, lock-on to your target and fire away. What sets H.A.W.X. apart in this respect is its assistance system, or lack of.

click to enlarge

By default, all of the flight assists in H.A.W.X. are enabled, with the game taking care of the advanced work, such as adjusting your throttle so you don't stall out. Double-click your brakes and the assists turn off, the camera zooms out and you're on your own. Suddenly, your jet controls like something out of an anime, giving you incredibly enhanced turning capabilities and letting you perform maneuvers only possible by forcing stall outs. The use of this mode becomes critical not only for chasing down tougher enemies but, more importantly, for dodging incoming projectiles. The use of flares can only get you so far and eventually you'll have to pull off some intense moves to scrape by.

Our time with H.A.W.X. was brief, but positive overall. On the surface, it comes off as a love letter to Ace Combat, but as we pulled back a few layers it began to show a personality of its own. The assistance features, while difficult to wrap your head around at first, became a great source of entertainment once we were able to show off a bit. With the gameplay more or less a hit, it'll be interesting to see how the missions play out and how Ubisoft will deliver on their promise of online co-operative play.

Rabbids, Persian Princes and Beyond Good & Evil 2? Check out all our coverage (and a bountiful amount of screenshots) from Ubisoft's Ubidays 2008 event.

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Rainbow Six dev: 'We will never go back to Vegas'

Ross Miller — 2008-02-08T15:10:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, First Person Shooters

Don't expect a Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 3 anytime soon. Speaking to Eurogamer, designer Philippe Therien said, "We will never go back to Vegas - at least, not in the foreseeable future." So much for the "rescue four hooker witnesses from a back alley full of out-of-town drunkards" mission we've been dying to play.

Therien also noted that, although the single location worked well for the story of the previous two games, he's not sure if they'll return to that format for the next Rainbow Six installment. (Make no mistake, no one expects this to be the last Rainbow Six title.) The glamorous, time-paradoxical Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 is due out March 21.

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Rainbow Six Vegas 2 cashes in March 21

Scott Jon Siegel — 2008-02-05T16:55:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

Eurogamer reports that Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will be shooting up casinos and terrorists before you know it, as Ubisoft has confirmed a March 21st release date for the game.

Vegas 2 will feature numerous improvements over the first Nevada-centric Rainbow Six game, including an improved reward system, online co-op, sprinting, and destructible cover. We're assuming March 21 is a worldwide release for the game, although we will confirm with Ubisoft whether that date pertains to North America as well as Europe.

[Via X3F]

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Rainbow Six Vegas 2 to feature 'more Vegas'

James Ransom-Wiley — 2007-12-20T15:25:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters

"Talk to the hand!" has been the sentiment of the two Rainbow Six Vegas 2 teaser trailers released thus far, and while Ubisoft still isn't ready to show us the game, the publisher is ready to talk. A smattering of gameplay details was disclosed today, confirming what the game title already reveals: we're in for more Rainbow Six Vegas. More weapons, more armor, mo' better AI, more multiplayer and, of course, "more Vegas."

As the Tom Clancy franchises continue along the 'EA Sports trajectory,' Vegas 2 will see its most ambitious seasonal tweaks in the form of ~~improved~~ "vastly improved" co-op play (a jump-in/jump-out campaign) and single-player expansion of the first game's multiplayer progression system (offline experience points). Anyone else convinced that the Ubisoft Montreal devs could code this game in their sleep?

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is being developed for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Games for Windows, and is currently scheduled for a March 2008 release.

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